I'm still trying to figure out why, but we got comp'd an incredible breakfast this morning before walking down the street to the Tulum Ruins. When it comes to free food, I don't ask many questions! With a belly full of Huevos Rancheros done right, we hurried past the gradually swelling crowds of cruise ship passengers into the site. We got there right around 9am and there were already more people than we ever saw at Chichen Itza, which is a real shame because Tulum's ruins are nothing in comparison. BUT, they are perched on a breeze-swept cliff overlooking translucent turquoise water, so you really can't beat the location. Even the Mayans knew that! We know all about the cruise ship hordes because we were a part of them ourselves several years ago. I think it was actually that trip that put Mexico in my head as a destination, so at least SOME good came out of us going on a cruise! We got the guided tour then, so this time around was really just about the beach. We've noticed that mornings start out bright and clear, then the clouds start to roll in towards the afternoon. That works out pretty well because, without a little cloud cover, it would just be too stinking hot to go outside after 11am. Brittany took a swim beneath the ruins while I soaked up some sun and guarded our stuff. Everything was pretty much the same as we remembered so, with the swimming mission quickly accomplished, we left after about an hour. Why stick around to share a beach with throngs of other people when you already have a private slice of paradise, umbrella and all? A flank steak quesadilla and a cocktail or two kept us occupied for the next couple of hours. I can understand why Brittany loves the beach so much: the cool breeze, the hot sun, the salty air...but it just ain't for me. I love it for about 30 minutes (or as long as the beer lasts) and then I just get bored. I feel like I need to get up and do something! Brittany needs to teach me how to enjoy it I guess, or maybe I'm just doing the beach wrong :) By 1:30 I was getting ancy so we decided to take our Belgian friends up on a tip they gave us a few days ago. We drove about thirty minutes to a town called Akumal, known for sea turtles and great snorkeling. It was a much more popular spot than we realized and we were flagged over pretty much the moment we pulled in. I stopped the car (mistake) and some guy pretending to be official started asked me all the questions that a tout would ask. I was kind of confused so I just didn't say anything, and he eventually decided to tell me that I had to pay 50 pesos to keep going. More silence from me, and he finally gave up. I didn't have it all figured out for a few minutes but man am I glad I didn't fork over any money! Once we got past tout central the street got pretty quiet. We followed it for a long ways, all the way to a beautiful lagoon called Yak Ul. I rented a mask (Brittany was too cool for that) and snorkeled for an hour or so. I've been diving in the Keys but I have never seen so many beautiful fish! It was totally worth the trip and Brittany definitely missed out, but she did get plenty of swimming in as she followed me around the lagoon. We were right at the point where fresh water from an underground river meets the ocean, so there was a bit of everything: cold water, hot water, tall mangroves and crashing waves. It was spectacular! The only downside was the clouds having rolled in; I think the lagoon would have glowed green if the sun were right on it. At least we stayed cool, and we drove back to the bungalow very glad that we made the trip. For our last dinner in Mexico we drove ten minutes to Tulum Pueblo, which is the main tourist drag off the beach. This is where all the hostels and burger joints were, i.e. where we would have normally stayed :) Google reviews picked our restaurant and we had a somewhat unusual but highly "Mexican" meal. I can now officially say I have eaten grasshopper (yay me), but Brittany cannot (boo!). It honestly didn't taste like anything so it wasn't quite the defining life moment you would undoubtedly expect it to be. I got a little nervous when the bill came because we were starting to run low on cash, and I had to use every single peso in my pocket to settle the tab. Man I hope we don't need cash for anything tomorrow! I'm pretty sure we aren't taking a toll road to the airport so we should be ok...but I've been caught without cash in Latin America before and it's never pretty. It'll only take about an hour and a half to get to Cancun from here, and I'm wondering if we'll hit any more police checkpoints. We've gone through at least three so far, and it's been different every time. Most people get waved through right away, but we get stopped without fail. It's probably my dead-on resemblance to that shady white guy in every movie you've ever seen; they think I'm up to no good. The first time, the officer (in Spanish) asked if I spoke Spanish. Nope. Nada? Nada. Move along. The second time, the man looked at Brittany and said, "friend or family?". "Wife". Move along. I think the last time came down to me not speaking Spanish again, and they just waved us on through. It's a little nerve racking each and every time, even though I know there's nothing to it. At least we learned that all you have to do to get through a Mexican roadblock is act (and look) a little stupid! We've both really enjoyed our time in Mexico but, as happens at the end of all of our trips, we're ready to go home. I think the biggest thing I learned this time around was how great it is to have a rental car. It's a pain to get and a little scary at first, but the freedom it brings is sooooo worth the price. I'll definitely be more open to that option from here on out. Also, wear lots of sunscreen. I did pretty well on that front (mostly because I'm scared of cancer on my head), but Brittany is a strange combination of lobster and raccoon. If the bright red lines haven't evened out by this weekend, please feel free to call her "the coonster". She'll like that. Our flight doesn't leave until late tomorrow, so we'll get one last gloriously slow and easy morning. We should be pulling into our driveway around midnight, and then it's back to work the very next day. I can't afford to waste that vacation time! Next stop is Iceland, then Australia. This planet is just too dag-gum big.